There is a place called Sandwich Sandwich in the UK that does similarly huge sandwiches (two meals, way too much filling). The cost is 4 GBP. San Francisco prices are out of control.
My first time in Paris, I ordered what amounts to a grilled cheese sandwich and they charged me 20 euro. 10 years ago. Felt outrageous but I gotta admit it was a pretty good sando and it was my bad for eating at a tourist trap.
The place from my original comment[1] is in San Francisco.
People come from far and wide to have these sandwiches. I’ve seen people in the wild wearing swag from this sandwich place. Calling them sandwiches is almost criminal. Even making it at home you would certainly spend $10 on ingredients. There is no skimping on the meat.
I mean just look at the photos on their homepage. The sandwich is unlike anything I’ve seen in a European bakery. They’re typically 2 meals for me.
Having lived in London and San Francisco I can say that from my perspective there is a real problem with getting affordable, convenient and descent sandwiches in the US. They’re ubiquitous in England, every shop has pre packaged sandwiches and few are inedible. Most people who work in the city can grab something cheapish from pret that’s pre made and tastes good. I’m yet to find anything remotely equivalent here, prepackaged food is often just made really badly, from low grade ingredients so much so it’s not worth taking a punt on half the time. So you wind up paying more for something that just got made in front of you because the alternative will make you regret buying it. It’s a waste because most of the working week all you really want is something that will get you through till clocking off time that you can buy and eat quickly so you’re not wasting too much of your time out of the office.
Thing is, people will pay $20 for a good sandwich.
We have a place down the street, Deli Board, that makes truly amazing sandwiches. The only sandwich I've ever had that made me say "You know, this might be too much filling and not enough bread". They're expensive, literally $18 to $22, but you never ever feel like it wasn't worth it.
But many places aren't interested in making food that feels worth paying for.
It's a tangent, but that $10 roast beef sandwich is gigantic. I was surprised when they rolled out such an expensive food court item, and so I bought it, and I couldn't finish it. I took half of it home to eat later. I am not a light eater.
Pretty much every town or villiage in the UK has a Tesco/boots/coop, all of which offer pre packaged sandwiches for less than £2. I don't think I've ever come across a bakery that sells pre made sandwiches for that price. YMMV on the mainland though
I've eaten both european and american sandwiches. American ones are certainly better "value for money" but only in the sense that they typically feed a family of four.
They're kind-of excessive. the US didn't invent the foot-long sub for no reason, worldwide obesity scores had to be earned.
Sandwich ranges have been triple-hit by reduced demand due to covid, increased costs, and prices squeezed by supermarket "meal deals" which have generally gone up less than inflation.
Quality of sandwiches generally have completely disappeared as a result.
It's hardly a surprise that the market for a £6 sandwich just isn't there, so they have to cut costs to get back to a point people will pay.
Don't want to detract from your recommendation but just piggyback on the price remark - the guys in my office buy sandwich supplies at the start of the week and do four days worth of two sandwiches each. $10-12pp for the week. It's pretty social too as everyone preps and eats together.
Do you mean like Katz's or your random neighborhood deli? I live in a gentrified area, but a regular sandwich is like $7. It's more expensive than a sandwich you'd get at 7, but a lot more filling too.
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